Ontario Justice Education Network: Teacher Professional Development Series

The Ontario Justice Education Network is offering a free online session for secondary school teachers on ‘The Top 5 Cases’ of the past year. This webinar features Professor Sonia Lawrence from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. Each year at our annual Summer Law Institute, a leading Ontario jurist or professor presents five Canadian legal decisions from the previous year that they feel are of the greatest importance and interest to educators and the public. OJEN prepares a summary of the cases, comments and observations that are appropriate for discussion and debate in the classroom setting.More information: http://www.ojen.ca. OJEN thanks the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding makes this webinar series and many other public legal education projects possible.

The Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC)was created in 2017 to address anti-Black racism in Ontario. In this session, they join OJEN to talk about anti-Black racism in schools, the Ontario school to prison pipeline, and other issues facing Black youth. This session features contributions and presentations from:Jody Yaa Dunn, Provincial Anti-Black Racim & Justice Programs Manager (BLAC)Tiffany Taylor, Community Engagement Co-ordinator (BLAC)Sade Makinde, Community Legal Worker (BLAC)Khaldah Salih, Community Legal Worker (BLAC)More info about BLAC: https://www.blacklegalactioncentre.ca/More from OJEN: https://ojen.ca/en OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar series and so many other crucial projects possible.

Secondary school teachers, join us for a free online session highlighting OJEN’s new resources for the classroom! A long-time favourite of the Summer Law Institute, OJEN staff present new resources available for your classroom. This year’s webinar features a number of online resources and plans for program delivery throughout the year! More info: https://ojen.ca/en/new-resources-2021 Visit our website: https://ojen.ca/en OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar series and so many other crucial projects possible.

Are your students interested in a career in law? In this talk from Linda Pasternak, the Paralegal Program Co-ordinator and Professor at Seneca College, you will learn what paralegals and law clerks do, explore recent changes in paralegals’ scope of practice, and map out the training pathways required to enter thes exciting professions. Moderated by Hanna Kaploun, Project Co-ordinator with the Public Legal Education Association of Canada.For more information, visit us at http://www.ojen.ca.OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar series and so many other crucial projects possible.

Learn about and receive resources on the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and how it’s implemented in Canada. This workshop will cover the UNCRC’s interaction with various federal and provincial laws (eg. human rights, education, criminal, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms), as well as its place within Canada’s international obligations. We will use an upcoming Charter challenge seeking to lower the voting age in Canada as a case study (complete with a teacher curriculum resource).Speakers:Mary Birdsell, Executive Director, Justice for Children and Youth Legal ClinicJane Stewart, Litigation Lawyer, Justice for Children and Youth Legal ClinicMore info: https://ojen.ca/OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar series and so many other crucial projects possible.

Many areas of law intersect with and impact a young person’s access to, and pathway through, our education systems. In this session, Justice for Children and Youth, Ontario’s specialty child rights legal clinic, will explore three such intersections – immigration law for young people with no or precarious immigration status, special education systems and their legal framework, and youth criminal justice. Panelists include:Sarah Pole, Director, Childhood Arrivals Support and Advocacy Program (CASA)Erica Lalonde, Program Manager, Enhancing Access to Special Education (EASE)Kaffie Abdirashid, Education Advocate at the Toronto Northwest Justice CentreMeaza Damta, summer law student with Justice For Children and Youth and EASEModerated by Zoe Paddock, for OJEN. More info: https://ojen.ca/OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar series and so many other crucial projects possible.

In this panel discussion, presented by OJEN's Toronto Local Committee for the Summer Law Institute 2021, we discuss how child witnesses are supported throughout a criminal case, from the early stages of the police investigation through to court preparation, giving testimony at trial, and at sentencing hearings.Panelists include:Maggie Brown, Assistant Crown Attorney (Toronto Downtown)Royland Moriah, criminal defence counsel at MacGregor Moriah Horic LLPBarb McIntyre, Program Manager for the Child Victim Witness Program at BOOST Child & Youth Advocacy Centre and leader in the BOOST Accredited Reliable K9 (BARK) Program and handler of a courthouse support dog.For more information: http://www.ojen.ca This event is free but made possible by a grant from the Law Foundation Ontario and donations from our community. If you’d like to help us continue our work, we accept donations through our Canada Helps page.

What does good work look like for your students in 2021? Whether they are continuing on to post-secondary learning or heading straight into the workforce, young workers are vulnerable to exploitation and may find themselves with limited options. In this session, expert employment lawyers Joshua Mandryk (Goldblatt Partners LLP) and Ryan White (Cavalluzzo LLP) explore two of the most pressing topics facing young people in workplace law: unpaid internships and work-credit programs, and the uncertain rules around Uber and other “gig apps.” Learn about developments in the law, organizing efforts around these issues, and resources for your students. Visit our website: https://ojen.ca/en OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar series and so many other crucial projects possible.

In the fall of 2020, media attention in Canada turned to rising tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous lobster fishers in Nova Scotia. Characterized as a “dispute”, reporting positioned the treaty rights of the Sipekne’katik First Nation as conflicting with non-Indigenous concerns around over-fishing and depleting valuable lobster stocks. Many students and teachers were left with questions about this account and how historical treaties, legal decisions and issues of Indigenous sovereignty might change the story. Please join OJEN with panelists Bryce Edwards (Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP) and David Walders (Indigenous Innovation Initiative) for a session exploring how the history of contact informs notions of legitimacy and sovereignty in discussions around honouring treaty rights. OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar and so many other crucial projects possible. For more OJEN webinars, please visit: ojen.ca/en/training/teachers/professional-development

In late February 2020, a 17-year-old was arrested after allegedly stabbing two women at a massage parlour in Toronto’s north end. One woman died and the other was seriously wounded in the attack. The accused was initially charged with first degree murder and attempted murder under the Criminal Code.When investigation into the accused’s social media presence revealed that the attack may have been inspired by the misogynist “incel” ideology, prosecutors modified the charges to include “terrorist” designations. Incels -short for “involuntary celibates” – are men who feel they deserve sex from women, but who cannot attract them and so become deeply angry. Whereas this frustration has led to violence on numerous occasions, these charges represent two important firsts: the first time incel violence has been formally charged as terrorism, and the first time Canada’s anti-terrorism laws have been used against an accused who was not alleged to be linked to Islamic terror groups.This raises many questions about how we define “terrorism” and how Canadian law can – or should – address it.These are rich lines to explore with students, and OJEN has tools to help you do it. Please join us as we welcome Prof. Reem Bahdi of the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor and Fahad Ahmad of the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University as they help us explore these issues!OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar and so many other crucial projects possible.http://www.ojen.ca

Where do low-income Ontarians get free or affordable legal help? Most people know that legal aid exists, but do you know how it actually works? Teachers, join us to dive into how Legal Aid operates, from a panel of lawyers who have been working in the system for years. We will review and explain the different types of help that Legal Aid offers, who can access them, and how. Including: The certificate program Duty counsel Community legal clinics Specialty clinics Student legal clinics Speakers: Simone Bern, Criminal Policy Counsel and Lead for the Bail Strategy at Legal Aid Ontario; Lenny Abramowicz, Executive Director, Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario. OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar and so many other crucial projects possible. Visit our website: http://ojen.ca/en/

COVID-19 continues to have a changing impact on the law and all of our lives. In this webinar, teachers will learn from leading experts how COVID-19 has affected criminal, employment and housing law. This webinar features Meghan Scott (Crown Attorney, MAG) on changes in the criminal justice system, Kumail Karimjee (employment lawyer, Karimjee Law) on changes in employment law, and Nina Hall (Staff Lawyer, Kensington Bellwoods Community Legal Services) on housing law.Presented as part of the 2020 Summer Law Institute on August 13, 2020. NB: The information presented here was accurate as of the date of recording. It is likely to change quickly in the future. If you are having a legal issue, please seek more recently updated legal information and speak to a lawyer. Nothing in this recording constitutes legal advice.Presenter materials:Employment Law Presentation: downloadHousing Law Presentation: downloadCriminal Law Presentation: download

Their Voices Will Guide Us is an educational and outreach initiative of the National Inquiry intended to facilitate critical thinking, purposeful reflection, and dialogue around the perceptions and lived realities of Indigenous women and girls, including members of 2SLGBTQQIA communities.Ms Bearhead is a longtime Indigenous activist and educator. She is the head of Education and Programming for the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Colombia, the Director of Reconciliation for Canadian Geographic and was the Education Coordinator for the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (NIMMIWG). Ms. Bearhead is the lead author of “Their Voices Will Guide Us”, a curriculum resource for teachers and student and youth engagement guide to help turn classrooms into spaces of critical thinking and reflections around perceptions and realities of Indigenous women’s and girls’ lived experiences. She will join us to speak about the national inquiry and the curriculum it inspired.Related Resources:For information about Their Voices Will Guide Us, please visit: www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/commemoration-art-and-education/their-voices-will-guide-usWebinar presentation: DownloadTheir Voices Will Guide Us: WebpageTheir Voices Will Guide Us (Student and Youth Engagement Guide): PDF and Word DocumentRelated OJEN Resources:The Cases that Have Changed Society (Delgamuukw v British Columbia): DownloadTsilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia: DownloadLax Kw’alaams Indian Band v Canada: DownloadDaniels v Canada: DownloadR v Kokopenace: DownloadIn Focus – Idle No More: Download

Seven young people, backed by Ecojustice, are suing the Government of Ontario for weakening its climate targets because it will lead to widespread illness and death, violating Ontarians’ Charter-protected rights to life, liberty, and security of the person. As young people, the applicants say they and people like them will bear the costs of climate in action more than previous generations. Alan Andrews from Ecojustice spoke to us about this litigation, Ontario's climate plan, and young people's leadership in the fight against climate change.Originally presented during the 2020 Summer Law Institute, on August 5 2020.

The Top 5 Cases is one of our oldest and finest traditions at OJEN. This year, Justice Lorne Sossin joins is to detail what he thinks are the 5 most important cases coming through our appeals courts in the past year.Originally presented for the 2020 Summer Law Institute, July 28 2020.